US Dollar Jumps on Initial Jobless Claims Hitting Two-Month Low

The  US dollar is strengthening on  Thursday after the  US government reported its lowest number of  Americans filing for  unemployment benefits since the  COVID-19 crisis started two months ago. The  news elevated the  greenback, which also surged on  weakening equities that have prompted global investors to  pour into the  traditional safe-haven asset this week.

According to  the  Department of  Labor, initial jobless claims came in  at  2.981 million for  the  week ending May 9, worse than the  median estimate of  2.5 million. This is the  lowest reading since the  coronavirus pandemic started two months ago. Continuing jobless claims clocked in  at  22.833 million. The  jobless four-week moving average, which eliminates the  week-to-week volatility, totaled 3.616 million.
Last week, the  number of  Americans filing for  unemployment benefits was 3.169 million. Continuing jobless claims reached 22.647 million, while the  four-week moving average was 4.173 million.
In  total, approximately 36 million Americans have lost their jobs in  eight weeks, but the  job-loss trend appears to  have peaked.
US financial markets barely reacted to  the  news as  the  leading stock indexes were in  the  red in  pre-market trading, mostly due to  the  Federal Reserve’s gloomy assessment of  the  economy on  Wednesday. Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned of  a  prolonged economic downturn and  a  slower recovery due to  the  COVID-19 public health crisis, urging Congress to  adopt additional fiscal policy tools to  support growth. But while he dismissed imposing subzero interest rates, Powell revealed that the  central bank could employ more monetary policy measures.
In  other economic data, import prices fell 2.6% in  April, down from the  2.4% drop in  March. Analysts had penciled in  a  drop of  3.1%. Still, this is the  steepest decline in  import prices since January 2015, driven primarily by  the  collapse in  crude oil prices. Export prices also slumped 3.3%, down from a  1.7% slide in  the  previous month. This was the  largest decrease in  the  history of  the  Bureau of  Labor Statistics (BLS)‘s 32-year-old monthly report.
The  US Dollar Index, which measures the  greenback against a  basket of  currencies, rallied on  the  job numbers. The  index advanced 0.21% to  100.46, from an  opening of  100.19, which further lifted its year-to-date gain to  more than 4.2%.
The  USD/CAD currency pair rose 0.13% to  1.4119, from an  opening of  1.4102, at  12:43 GMT on  Thursday. The  EUR/USD slid 0.24% to  1.5218, from an  opening of  1.5255.
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